Galatians 5:19 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
On my webpage is a work called “Walking in the Spirit”. In it I have tried to describe what I know about walking in the spirit. It is roughly fifteen thousand words. Nowhere in that descriptive dialogue can I find one example of how to do it.
I had hoped that it would be a roadmap to walking in the spirit. I find that it is woefully short of my expectations. It is full of quotes from the bible. It is full of information I have collected as I experienced God.
When a baby learns to walk, you cannot tell them what to do. They either have a desire to walk or they do not. Some take to being encouraged, others do not. Some refuse to stay sitting and take every opportunity to pull themselves up and try to walk, even before their little bodies are ready.
Is it possible that walking in the spirit is like a baby learning how to walk? That the Holy Spirit takes us by the hand and helps us walk without words or instruction, but takes the supportive role in our desires to walk in the spirit? Can you walk in the spirit and not be aware of it, just as you give very little thought to the process of walking, you just get up and do it.
I look to this passage in Galatians and know that Christ is still in my life event though I still sin. 1 John 1:8 tells me that I have sin, and to deny that fact is to be deceived. So is the absence of “lust of the flesh” a true sign of walking in the spirit or me deceiving myself yet once again?
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
This illustration helps me to understand the relationship of the Holy Spirit with the believer. Take an empty cup, drop a rock in it, and fill it. We can see that the cup is filled, but with what?
As we yield to the Holy Spirit, the rock becomes smaller, and is replaced by the Holy Spirit.
What is the evidence that we are filled with the Holy Spirit? That’s a can-o-worms discussion that has split more churches over the centuries.
The moment you received Christ, the Holy Spirit not only came to indwell you, but He imparted to you spiritual life, causing you to be born anew as a child of God. It’s akin to getting into a roller coaster car (the Holy Spirit). You hang on for the ride.
I love this post. Larry, you brought out the point of a baby learning to walk and Ern, you point out that you just go along for the ride–excellent point! This is so important to me to realize that once you have learned to walk as a baby, you no longer are occupied with HOW you walk, but rather WHERE you walk. I don’t concern myself about which foot goes first and how does the other go next; that comes naturally, but if I see a broken glass bottle on the sidewalk, I am careful to go around it. This world is a spiritually dangerous place to walk—a lot to distract,–“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” these all grieve the Holy Spirit within me and hinder my communion with my Savior. Ern, I don’t know you, but am enjoying getting to know you through your comments on this great blog site of Larry’s. Thank you for your participation, and please keep it up. So far I have seen comments from Phyllis, Fred and Ern and want to encourage you all—you, too, are a blessing to all of us readers.